Johanna Popjanevski - The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst

Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst, 12 December 2007 27between Abkhazia and South Ossetia on one sideand Georgia on the other side. As the analystbelieves, in reality, Georgia and Moldova are moreinterested in discussing the frozen conflicts at theUN than Azerbaijan is. According to him, theconflicts in Abkhazia, South Ossetia andTransdnestr are seen in the frameworks of theRussian mandate and, to avoid one-sided mediation,and taking into account the willingness to take awaythe peacekeeping mandate from Russia, thosecountries proposed the issue for discussion of theinternational community, while the NagornoKarabakh conflict was a subject of a multilateraldebate within the OSCE Minsk Group. “The keyreason for putting the question for the discussion atthe UN so fast was Russia’s statement that if theWest recognizes Kosovo, it would recognizeindependence of the republics in the post-Sovietterritory,” Hovhannisyan concluded. (Regnum)AZERBAIJAN CONVICTS 15 OF PLOTTINGIRAN-BACKED COUP10 DecemberA court in ex-Soviet Azerbaijan Monday convictedmore than a dozen people of plotting a coup withthe backing of Iranian intelligence services. SaidDadashbeyli, mastermind of the coup, wassentenced to 14 years in prison while 14 others werehanded sentences of between two and 14 years.Authorities alleged the group had been cooperatingwith Iranian special services to mount a coupagainst the government of President Ilham Aliyev.Members of the group were arrested in January andcharged with high treason, plotting a coup, being inpossession of illegal weapons and manufacturingfalse documents. No other details of the plot haveemerged. The verdict was announced after a twomonthtrial held behind closed doors for reasons ofstate security. Despite growing trade links, relationsbetween Baku and Tehran have been difficult sinceAzerbaijan broke away from the Soviet Union in1991, with disputes over oil reserves in the CaspianSea and the status of a large ethnic Azeri minorityin Iran. Azerbaijan has accused Iran of trying toexport its brand of fundamentalist Islam to thefellow Shiite Muslim country. But critics sayAzerbaijan, a key U.S. ally in the strategic Caucasusregion, also uses the potential threat of extremismas a cover for persecuting political opponents.(AFP)TAJIKISTAN ASKS FOR LARGERELECTRICITY SUPPLIES FROMTURKMENISTAN10 DecemberA three-day official visit of Tajik PresidentEmomali Rakhmon to Turkmenistan will focus onthe deliveries of Turkmen energy resources. “Mycountry has strictly limited the consumption ofelectric power, so we need the imports of electricityand fuel,” Rakhmon said. “I have asked theTurkmen president to set quotas on the deliveries ofpetroleum products, liquefied natural gas and anumber of prime commodities to Tajikistan.”“Turkmenistan will continue to develop closeeconomic cooperation with Tajikistan,” TurkmenPresident Gurbanguly Berdimuhhamedow said incomments on the first day of the visit. He saidTurkmenistan had been successfully deliveringelectric power to the neighbor.A tripartite agreement on electric power supplieswas signed in Dushanbe in early October on resultsof an official visit of the Turkmen president. “Thethree-year contract implies the Turkmen annualdeliveries of one billion kilowatt/hours of electricityto Tajikistan,” Berdimuhhamedow said. As for therequest to enlarge electricity quotas, he said, amodern power plant had been recentlycommissioned in the northern area of Dashoguz.Thus, it is possible to enlarge electricity exports, inparticularly, to Tajikistan, he said.In addition, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan willrestore air and motor traffic and set up jointventures. Agreements to that effect were signedduring the visit, the Turkmen presidential pressservice said on Sunday. The presidents signed ajoint communiquй and a convention to preventdouble taxation and capital gain tax evasion. “Ourcountries have a huge cooperation potential,”Rakhmon said. In the opinion of the presidents, thedocuments will spur on cooperation, theestablishment of joint ventures and the protection ofinvestments. A joint economic cooperationcommission will also help to attain the goals. Theforeign ministers signed an intergovernmentalagreement on the mutual protection of classifiedinformation. On Monday Rakhmon will attend theopening of a UN regional center for preventivediplomacy in Central Asia and a relatedinternational conference. On December 11 he willvisit the Turkmenbashi seaport, the Avaza nationaltourist zone and a cluster of oil refineries. (Itar-Tass)